Paper Cuts
by Just a dude who writes stories
Summary: High school is hard. It's even harder when your parents aren't there to help you through it.(I gave the story to Author of the Journals)
1. Chapter 1

**Literally everyone is asking for this. So here's whats gonna happen with this. I will eventually post everything back up, but it won't be all at once. I'm gonna be alternating weeks between this and Soul of The Sea. Next week will be Paper Cuts again because Sea has 2 chapters. I hope you guys like this because edits will be made. Not a lot, but edits there will be.**

 **Paper Cuts**

It was the first day of high school and I was hugging my parents goodbye for what will be the last time in four years, as they had to leave for work overseas doing whatever they did. I was never very interested in my parents' job as it kept them away from me for long periods of time, and these next four years would be the longest I would be without them in my life.

My dad came up to me after my mother released me from her hug and ruffled my hair with his hand, one of his few signs of affection towards me. My father was a giant of a man, standing at an intimidating 6' 7" with my messy blonde hair, but he had a much wider and more masculine face than I thought I would ever have. My mother however was only an inch taller than me at 6' 2", and with one look at her and I standing side by side, one could tell that I was her son. I had inherited most if not all of my facial features from my mother, but she had long brown hair that reached her shoulders.

My father looked at me with a sense of sadness in his eyes, knowing that he wouldn't get to see me grow up and become a man in high school, "Jaune, I know that you are able to look after yourself, especially with the money that we're leaving for you to buy groceries and such. All the bills should be paid for the next four years so you shouldn't have to worry about that," he said with a hint of worry seeping into his voice. He lent in and whispered to me while my mom was putting her stuff in the taxi, "And make sure not to forget all the things I told you about women. You're an Arc after all, so I have no doubt that the ladies will be swarming all over you as soon as you step into school."

My mom returned at this point to give me yet another hug, "Just make sure that you stay safe," she pulled away from me.

As I was about to answer, the taxi driver honked his horn in normal taxi driver fashion and threatened to leave without them. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Now go and work on whatever it is you do, where ever it is this time." I said jokingly as I helped put the rest of the luggage into the trunk so they could leave. I watched with a slightly tearful expression as they left, waving until they were out of sight.

I walked back into my house to get ready for the school bus, and then walked back to the sidewalk at the end of my street to wait for the bus. I was waiting for my friend Pyrrha, who lived right beside me, but she still didn't show up by the time the bus came. That wasn't that strange as she was an athlete for most of the girls' sports in the school, so she probably went early so she could sign up for them this year. I got on the bus and found an empty seat that was in the front of the bus.

When we got to the school, some of the students from my old school greeted me, and asked about Pyrrha. I was used to this though, as I had been her friend since before we started school. I was never really known for being anything more than Pyrrha's friend because she was always one of the most beautiful girls in our class. Well other guys would say hot, but I think the word is insulting to girls. It only says things about them physically. I say beautiful when talking about Pyrrha because she is a great person, and because I've had a crush on her since the 7th grade.

I avoided the crowded lunch room where most of the students gathered. I had never been one for socializing as I turned out to be a bit overbearing when I first met new people. I just pulled my hoodie around me a bit tighter and went to Mr. Port's English class, as it was my homeroom.

Inside of the room I found a fairly large man that was my height telling the few other students in the room about a time when he snuck backstage at a Kiss concert when he was younger, and then proceeded to travel with them for 3 years.

I just ignored the man and fell asleep waiting for class to start. I didn't wake up until a boy with almost shoulder-length black hair with a pink stripe in it woke me up after the bell to leave first period rung. "Thanks, he was just so boring," I said, to which he just nodded in understanding. After a few more moments of awkward silence I decided to speak up, "My name is Jaune Arc, what's yours?" I asked as we walked out of the room.

"My name is Lie Ren, but I would prefer it if you called me Ren," was all he said as he took a turn to a different part of the wing where I knew I wasn't going. I just walked the rest of the way to my science class by myself. Inside I saw Pyrrha sitting with a white haired girl that looked very pretty. My red-headed friend waved me over with a small smile on her face as she was talking to the girl with the snowy-white hair.

"Hey Jaune, this is Weiss. She moved here from Atlas last year," she said as I sat down beside them, on Pyrrha's left. I waved at Weiss who nodded back to me.

"Since your friends with Pyrrha I'm assuming that you also participate in sports? I myself plan on joining the girls soccer team," Weiss asked me politely.

My face fell slightly as I thought about how yet another girl that would be in my life was fond of sports, "Well I don't play any sports, but I always go to Pyrrha's games. I'm practically her personal cheerleader."

Pyrrha nodded her head joyfully at that, but Weiss seemed to lose interest in anything else concerning me after that . When we turned back to the front of the room the door was closing and a message was written on the board for us to read.

"Hello class, I'm Ms. Peach and I'll be your science teacher for the next 4 years. How things work here is that all your current teachers will follow you as you move up through the grades. It's supposed to help make you feel more comfortable with us, as we will be a more permanent piece of your school life." Along with this a stack of papers was on the teacher's desk with a note for us to pass them out. It turns out it was a syllabus explaining what we were going to do for the class, along with a safety contract that said the school would not be responsible for any injuries that may occur during any labs and activities. Without any real lesson or even teacher, all of us decided to continue talking after the papers had been passed out.

I turned to Pyrrha as she was sorting her newly acquired papers. "Hey, are you still coming to hang out tonight? We could go to the movies or something if we get bored enough," I asked hoping that she would. I was planning on telling her how I felt about her. I had thought about it for a while, and I realized that while I cared about our friendship, I was not afraid to risk it if it meant that I could be with Pyrrha.

She looked at me with an excited gleam in her eye, "Can we postpone that? Weiss and another girl invited me to hang out with them and their friend." She said, giving me a hopeful, puppy-eyed look.

"Sure, why not? We always hang out anyway," I said as I put a smile on my face, but on the inside I had to swallow down my sadness. Pyrrha would normally always spend the night with me on the first night my parents left for a trip.

* * *

I decided to walk home at the end of the day, due to my house not being that far away from the school and the bus normally being too loud in the evenings. I was walking along the sidewalk at an even pace, about to reach a park that was almost halfway between the school and my own house. As I walked past the entrance, I saw a dark-haired girl wearing a red T-shirt and black track pants running along the path. She looked to be about 12 or 13. Our eyes met, and she smiled and waved at me as she went by. I smiled and waved back at her before continuing on.

I made it home a little before dark, and made myself some dinner. I was a bit lonely, but I was used to it… After all, I had spent plenty of nights like this before.

* * *

I was in my 7th period History class, taught by Mr. Oobleck, thinking about what had happened in the past three months. Pyrrha was almost never around as much as she used to be, and all of the other people the normally talked to me all seemed to stop one day when they realized that I wasn't Pyrrha's best friend anymore. That spot was filled by Weiss, the snowy-haired girl sitting beside Pyrrha on the first day, Blake, a girl with long raven-black hair who always wore a large black ribbon in her hair regardless of her outfit and was always reading a book, and Yang, the busty blonde captain of the boxing team.

Right now, Yang was sitting beside me and trying to start a conversation, but I was trying to study so I found it rather distracting. "So Jaune, are you going to be at the track meet today? Pyrrha seems really excited about it." She asked offhandedly, making my mind grind to a halt. I had completely forgotten about Pyrrha's track meet, mostly because she hadn't been bringing it up every 30 minutes to me like she used to do. I didn't think I could go, I was currently cramming for tomorrow's History test which I had also forgotten about for the same reason. Pyrrha kept me focused on lots of things in school, and now that she wasn't talking to me nearly as much it really showed.

"I don't think I can, I have a lot of stuff to do for school tomorrow that I can't afford to miss," I replied somewhat evasively to the blonde and feeling rather embarrassed. Yang gave me an incredulous look as if I were a pig learning to fly.

Normally the blonde boxer didn't talk to me much since my introverted personality clashed with her outgoing exuberance, and our conversations barely lasted more than a few words, but she appeared to be making an effort this time. "But Pyrrha said that you always go to every single one of her sporting events," she stated, sounding shocked by my refusal.

Before Yang could drag an answer out of me, I was thankfully saved by the bell. I hurriedly made my way out of class, briefly stopping by my locker to pick up my black hoodie for my usual walk home. I also left my book bag in my locker, making sure to grab what few materials I needed and putting them in a smaller bag that was easier to carry around.

I was now walking down the road on the way home, watching the cars drive by and make a slight breeze that was quite refreshing. I walked past the park like I did every day, and just like every other day the dark-haired girl was there, today she was wearing a red jacket over a black corset. Like always, she seemed to know I was there, turning to look at me and waving her hand wildly above her head. I just smiled at her and returned a small wave before she went out of sight.

I reached home at 4 o'clock and went inside to make myself a sandwich before I started cramming for the History test tomorrow. Right as I picked up the bread, I heard a knock on my door so I went to see who it was, I heard the door being knocked again as I walked through my house and reached the entrance. When I opened the door, I found Pyrrha dressed in her track uniform standing outside with her mom parked in front of my house.

"Hey Jaune, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the meet early with me? Or are you just gonna walk there later?" She asked with a smile on her face.

I sighed and told her the truth. "I don't think I can make it this time Pyrr. I have to study for Oobleck's test tomorrow," I said, wincing inwardly as the smile fell off her face.

"But you always-,"

"Yeah, I know. I always go," I cut her off in mid-sentence.

Pyrrha was giving me a pleading look with a few tears forming in her eyes, and I felt my defenses crumble. "It starts at like 5:30 right?" She nodded at me as her mom honked the horn, "Well I think that I should be able to finish studying and get there in time to watch. You wanna come hang out here when it's over?"

Her tears instantly disappeared and she beamed at me, "I can't wait to see you there, and sure," Pyrrha said, giving me a hug before she ran back to her mom's car.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of knocking on my front door. My head was slightly stuck to the desk by a small puddle of drool that I wiped off of my face with my sleeve. Once again the sound of knocking went through the house and I yelled up, "I'm coming!"

Before I could even leave my room I heard the door open and Pyrrha yell, "JAUNE, YOU PROMISED THAT YOU WOULD COME!"

When I heard her yell I ran to the top of my steps to see her standing at the bottom in front of a wide open, tears streaming down her face. "I thought I meant more to you than some stupid test" she said much quiter than before.

Having no idea what she was talking about I looked out the open door to see that it was pitch black outside, and after that everything clicked. "Pyrrha, I'm so sorry."

Without even listening she ran out the door and across the street to her own house. I ran after her but even if she had spent the last few hours running track she was still faster than I was. Her door was already closed and locked by the time I had even gotten out of my own, but I still ran over anyway. For at least 5 minutes I knocked on her door as hard as I could. My knuckles had just started bleeding when Pyrrha's mom opened the door.

I looked at her with hopeful eyes but before I could speak she stopped me. "Jaune, I think it would be best if you went home." After that she calmly closed the door and I was left standing there. I walked back to my house not believing what had just happened. When I got home I tried calling Pyrrha before I eventually just got a one word text. _"Stop."_

I went to bed hoping that I would wake up and this whole thing would be washed away.

 **END**

 **So that's the chapter, and if what you guys have told me is anything to go by then I doubt I even ask for you to favorite and follow. But please review. I appreciate people telling me what I can do to improve my writing more than anything. PM me, review, message me on facebook if you can figure out who I am. I'm only 17 and any help is greatly appreciated. And btw, please dont judge me too much, I wrote this first when I was 15. Also that was a really big edit to the end, but I think it fits better than the old one.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I reread the second chapter and the changes just kept on coming. This time the story is starting out slower but the hating part is gonna speed up after this. I think it was just to fast in the beginning for the original, and while you guys liked it, I couldn't in good conscious not make it better.**

 **Chapter 2**

No mater how hard I tried to make it up to Pyrrha she kept distancing herself from me. At first it was subtle. She would always have an excuse to not hang out with me, or she would take forever to answer me back if she ever did at all.

It was close to the end of the first semester and Beacon had just finished their semester testing. Weiss had been stressing over them a lot because apparently they would change your classes depending on how well you did, and she had no intention of dropping out of any of her AP classes. I didn't really see the point about studying for the tests, but I studied with Pyrrha and her friends whenever she asked me to because it was one of the only times where she would ask me to hang out anymore.

My relationship with Weiss, Yang, and Blake was weird. Over the past few months Weiss had grown even colder towards me, almost as my very existence annoyed her. I guess it was because she cared so much about school and I didn't, but I had no idea. Yang was almost the same as before, but it seemed more strained to be around her. Her jokes seemed more forced and it was like she was waiting for me to mess up. Blake was almost exactly the same though, as she always kept quiet and read her books.

Right now all of us were hanging out at school after the testing to just relax before the girls, minus Blake, had to play their first soccer game of the year. Since the incident I had tried to make sure that I had gone to as many of Pyrrha's game's as I could so it wouldn't be an issue. Even with me trying so hard our friendship wasn't the same. It was like before I was one she was closest with, but after that first meet the other girls had taken my place and now I was slowly being thrown out of her life.

"Hey Jaune, we're gonna go and get ready," Pyrrha said to me while I was left in my train of thought.

"That's cool, I guess I'll go sit at the bleachers with Blake," I said as I nodded to said girl as she made her way to the bleachers while reading a book.

I caught up to Blake and I decided to make conversation even if she was reading, "So, those tests today huh? I don't get why Weiss was so worried. They were all really easy."

Without even looking up from her book she answered, "I did well on the English test, but I don't think I'll have to change my classes." I fell behind her while we walked slightly up the semi-crowded bleachers.

When we sat down the two teams had just made their way out to the field and were starting to warm up, Pyrrha blocking the goal while her team mates tried to make it past her. Mr. Oobleck was racing between the girls giving them small tips of advice before the game. Granted, this advice would be a lot more useful if they could understand him, but Mr. Oobleck had a tendency to speak to fast for us to understand him.

The other team, Nice Dynamite, was coached by two guys. One of them had short brown hair and he yelled a lot whenever one of his players messed up. It looked like the girls on his team didn't really mind the yelling though. Some of the girls were actually laughing at him when he yelled loud enough. The other guy had what sounded like a British accent and a big nose.

The game had just started when Blake spoke up. "Jaune?"

A little surprised by Blake starting any form conversation, I jumped slightly in my seat, "Yeah?"

"You know that they don't want you around right?" Blake said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Who?" I asked, even though I already knew who she was talking about.

She finally took her eyes away from her book to look at me, "Yang and Weiss. You would have to be an idiot to not notice how much Weiss hates you, and even Yang is tired of trying to be your friend for Pyrrha's sake."

My stomach dropped at her words, but I couldn't stop myself from asking, "What did I even do?"

She sat in thought for a few minutes, "You really hurt Pyrrha when you didn't show up to that track meet. All day the only thing she could talk to us about was how nervous she was that she was going to ask you out. Then you never showed up. We just don't Pyrrha to get hurt again."

I was confused and angry at her words. Confused that Pyrrha was going to ask me out and angry at myself for messing up our friendship. "So I should just leave you guys alone?"

She just shrugged her shoulders, "I never said that. I just said that we don't want you here."

I got up at that, "I guess I'll just go then."

She didn't even say goodbye.

* * *

Passing by the park like usual while thinking about what Blake said, I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that Pyrrha was going to ask me out, was being the key word. I was walking down the sidewalk, wondering just when our relationship got so fucked up when I noticed a familiar-looking girl wearing a red hoodie and black corset crossing over to my side of the street just ahead of me. Spotting me, she immediately turned to face me and waved her arm energetically above her head like usual, a bright cheerful smile on her face.

I had just returned the wave when I saw to my horror a car speeding down the road towards her, the driver either drunk, half-asleep or plain crazy if he was going down a suburban street at 90 miles an hour.

I was already running when the girl turned at the sound of the car and froze when she saw it coming straight at her. The driver had finally noticed the girl and was trying to brake, but the car was still going fast enough to do some serious damage, if not kill her. With bare moments to spare, I tackled her out of the way just as the car screeched through where our previous position was not half a second ago.

The bastard driving the car just revved up and sped away while yelling an apology out the window, not even bothering to come out and check on the girl he had almost killed with his reckless driving. The girl lay below me, panting shallowly as tears leaked from her glazed-looking eyes, and her fingers clutched my arm in a death grip.

I slowly stood up as she continued to grasp my arm as tight as possible, refusing to let go even after we were both standing. As soon as her feet hit the ground, what just happened seemed to hit her all at once as she wrapped her entire frame around mine and cried uncontrollably. With my total lack of practical knowledge of girls, I just did what felt natural and returned the hug, rubbing my hand along her back awkwardly.

We must have stood there for at least 5 minutes as she soaked the front of my new jacket. Soon after that though, she quieted down, so I decided to break the silence, "Hey… are you alright?" I asked in as soothing a voice as I could possibly manage.

I waited a few seconds for a reply, only to find that she had cried herself to sleep in my arms. Since I didn't know where she lived, and with her still clinging tightly to my arm even while unconscious, I decided to try and carry her over to my house. Lifting her off the ground into a bridal carry, I figured that she was fairly light, probably a little over 120 pounds. Luckily, my house was only a few short minutes away from where we were standing, so I hurriedly made my way back while trying not to jolt my sleeping passenger.

As I walked, I had the feeling that I was forgetting something really important that I was planning to do... but the moment passed as the girl in my arms started sobbing and mumbling in her sleep. Against my better judgment, I listened to her barely coherent words, "You shouldn't have…just like Mom...Sis is…," was all I could make out before she fell silent again.

Unconsciously cradling her closer at the sound of her upset words I sped up my pace so I. When I got to my house I awkwardly opened my front door and entered my house, making sure not to bump her on my way in, and carefully setting her down on my couch. She still clung to me tightly and refused to let go, so I was forced to perform some mild contortions to slide my jacket off and leave it in her grip, then I went to make dinner for the two of us.

It was the first time in six months that I had to cook for more than just myself. As I cooked, most of my thoughts and worries left my mind as I listened to the chicken sizzling and frying in the pan. Cooking was one of the few things I actually enjoyed doing, I had cooked often for my mom and dad when they were home instead of overseas, and it made me happy to see them eat the food I had prepared with a happy smile on their faces.

Filled with nostalgia, I had just finished preparing the food and was about to serve them when I heard a yelp of surprise come from the living room. Quickly turning everything off, I went into the living room to find the small girl sitting upright on my couch with my jacket in her hands and looking scared and confused at her unknown surroundings. "Uhh... hey. How are you doin'?" I asked as nonchalantly as possible while doing my best to be the picture of calmness.

Several emotions flashed across her face at my words and presence, the first of which was recognition, followed mostly by relief and something else, "You... You're that guy who passes the park every day," she said, to which I nodded. "So that really happened, with the…" again all I did was nod. I was about to say something when she spoke up again, tears forming in her eyes, "Why did you risk your life for me?"

"I did it because you're my friend." I said with utmost sincerity. To my surprise, I found that I really did consider her to be my friend, even though this was our first time actually talking to one another.

The girl just gave me a confused look through her tears. "How am I your friend when you don't even know who I am?" she asked miserably.

"Because strangers are just friends you haven't met yet," was all I said, before embracing her in a tight warm hug. A few moments passed before she calmed down and tentatively returned the hug, then I remembered that I had made dinner. "Hey, I made some dinner while you were asleep," I said as I let go of her, taking her by the hand and leading her to the kitchen.

When we got there, I motioned for her to take a seat before I served the still-warm food onto two plates for each of us. Placing her share in front of her, I sat down and was about to eat when I saw that she hadn't moved since I let go of her hand, "Are you not hungry?" I asked in concern.

The black-and-red headed girl shook her head and was about to say something when I heard her stomach growl very loudly, and very insistently. Blushing furiously, she avoided looking at me as she picked up the utensils I had provided and started eating. We both ate in silence for a few minutes before she softly spoke up, "What's your name?" she asked.

It took me a moment to realize that I never did tell her my name, "My name's Jaune."

"My name is Ruby," was all she said before she blushed and ate another piece of bacon. The rest of dinner passed just as quietly as it started, and when we finished, she suddenly looked at me with embarrassed eyes, "Can I stay here tonight? I don't wanna walk home after what just happened..."

I just smiled at her again and gave her my honest opinion, "Ruby, you're my friend remember? Just think of it as a sleepover." For the first time that night, Ruby graced me with her beautiful smile. After that, it seemed like she really went with the sleepover idea, pushing me onto the couch and asking me to pick a movie as she went to make some popcorn for us.

Before I could pick a movie however, Ruby called from the kitchen, "JAAAAUUUUNNNE, WHERE'S THE POPCORN!"

 **End**

 **I'm posting this early because I wanted to have a lazy weekend. I may post another chapter for this Sunday like I said I would but I don't know. I'll have to see how much I want to change in chapter 3. Please review and all that stuff, also, if you have hearthstone and ever need to see a dude make the dumbest plays ever, my battletag is TobyFox#1702.**


	3. Gave it away

So this is the last time that i should be writing. I'm pretty much done with it. I have been for a while.

So I gave the story to a guy that asked. His name is Dante- Author of the Comedy.

He's relatively new, but he has his own story that I like so far and you may too. That's one of the reasons I decided to give him the story. I don't know what he plans to do with it, but he has everything that i have saved up.

I'm sorry for letting you guys down. Knowing that I made this story that so many of you liked, and I can't even update for you all has been a constant source of depression for me over the past few years and now that Its officially not in my hands any more, I think I'll be able to find some peace about this.

Dante is going to be in my favorite authors section for those that want to find him.


End file.
